Oklahoma State Falls 6-5 to Kansas State in Series Opener

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Oklahoma State suffered a 6-5 loss in 12 innings in its series opener against Kansas State Friday night at Tointon Family Stadium.

With the loss, the 15th-ranked Cowboys fell to 25-13 and 10-6 in Big 12 play, with the Wildcats improved to 24-14 and 8-8 in the league.

The Cowboys plated a pair of runs in the 12th to take the lead, but K-State answered with three in the bottom of the inning to procure the walk-off win.

Offensively, Colin Brueggemann turned in a 3-for-6 performance, while Ian Daugherty had two hits and drove in a run.

Tommy Molsky took the loss on the mound as he gave up three runs in 2 1/3 innings while striking out five.

Starter Sam Garcia turned in another solid effort, working six innings, scattering seven hits and allowing a pair of runs while striking out six and not issuing a walk. 

OSU took the first lead of the contest in the third when Zach Ehrhard led off the inning with his seventh home run of the season over the wall in left-center field.

The lead did not last long as K-State tied things up in the bottom of the frame, getting an RBI single from Brendan Jones.

The Wildcats took their first lead in the fourth as Kaelen Culpepper opened the inning with a double and later came home to score on a single by Cayden Phillips to put the home team up 2-1.

This time, OSU answered, tying the score at 2-2 on a two-out RBI single by Kollin Ritchie in the fifth.

The back and forth continued over the next two innings. In the sixth, the Cowboys went back on top on an RBI single off the bat of Lane Forsythe that scored Brueggemann, who doubled.

But in the seventh, after reliever Robert Cranz quickly retired the first two batters he faced, a solo homer by Nick English tied the score at 3-3.

That score remained into extra innings until the 12th finally saw more scoring.

And it was the Cowboys getting it started. A leadoff walk to Avery Ortiz and a single by Brueggemann put runners on the corners before Daugherty plated a run with a single. Two batters later, Carson Benge made the score 5-3 with a sacrifice fly to center field.

But in the bottom of the inning, the Wildcats loaded the bases with no outs following a single, a double and a walk. After a strikeout, Raphael Pelletier doubled to bring home two runners and tie the score, and David Bishop followed with a single down the left field line to bring home the winning run.

The two teams return to action Saturday at 4 p.m.